The VGBees Podcast

Lotus, Niki, and John recovered from Summer Game Fest 2026 and reconvened (in home studios, not John's car) to discuss an extremely busy news week, including Xbox preparing major layoffs, Nintendo Direct revealing the Ocarina of Time remake, and more information dropping about Pokemon Go and its role in data gathering for defense purposes.

00:00:00 Intro & how waffle fries are made

Go to nogamesforgenocide.com to learn more about the BDS movement and Microsoft's continued role in the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

00:08:20 Asha Sharma writes memo to Xbox staff; heavy layoffs reported

00:25:00 Xbox...

Join Niki and John from Los Angeles as they debrief from a lively Summer Game Fest 2026.

At this point, most embargoes were still in effect, but we hope you enjoy discussion regarding:

Thanks for listening!

Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.

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VGBees is a weekly games media...

Folks, our schedules were so packed that John & Niki had to join Lotus from the car again. Sorry! This week, it's all about Summer Game Fest 2026 Showcase, which featured reveals of Resident Evil Veronica, Final Fantasy VII Revelation, and Tupac appearing in Stranger Than Heaven.

Time stamps and more SGF bonus episodes coming soon!

Thanks for listening!

Please leave us a review! We'll read it on the show and it helps us out a lot.

VGBees is ad-free, AI-free, and completely supported by you! https://vgbees.com/join

VGBees...

John and Lotus are joined this week by Jeff Gerstmann to discuss the week's biggest games news, including: The Witcher 3's surprising expansion coming in 2027, Steam Deck's massive price hikes, and what we thought of 007 First Light.

00:00:00 Intro & podcasting at yourself

00:08:56 The Witcher 3 is getting new DLC in 2027

00:13:10 A moment for Unreal Engine 6

00:15:57 Ikaruga creator's next game has been canceled

Go to nogamesforgenocide.com to learn more about the BDS movement and Microsoft's continued role in the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.

00:19:14 Microsoft must pay $250m to settle...

John, Lotus, and Niki discuss the biggest news of the week, including Embracer's head-scratching restructure, Destiny 2's final update, and PlayStation Plus price hikes.

00:00:00 Intro & Niki Buys a Porsche

00:09:50 Terraria celebrates 15 years of absolutely bonkers player counts

00:25:15 Tom Kane passes away at 64

00:26:41 PlayStation Plus gets price hikes

00:35:47 US National Recording Registry adds DOOM soundtrack to its library

00:44:28 Stig Asmussen Dungeons & Dragons game canceled by Wizards of the Coast

00:55:20 Embracer restructures their game organizations again

01:04:20

Content Warning for graphic medical procedures, assault, sexual assault, suicide, and death in this episode. The Pitt is a show with a lot of tough ingredients thrown into a stew--we try to navigate these with tact and care but be forewarned the entire episode has a lot of potentially triggering discussion.

GameDeveloper.com Editor-in-Chief (and Polygon, Waypoint, and Fanbyte alum) Danielle Riendeau joins John Warren for a recap of season two of The Pitt, one of VGBees' favorite television shows.

Danielle lends her experience as a volunteer EMT in New York City to the duo's...

Lotus and John discuss the biggest games news of the week, including Subnautica 2 creating a big bonus problem for KRAFTON's CEO, leaked Xbox controllers, and Marathon's interesting PVE-focused roadmap.

00:00:00 Intro & Buc-ees Fare

00:10:05 Subnautica 2's massive sales creates an interesting problem for KRAFTON's CEO

00:13:15 Steam Controllers look bad, feel good, and scream when you drop them

00:21:43 Sony takes huge loss on Bungie acquisition; Marathon gets new PVE-heavy roadmap

00:30:20 Wizards and Hasbro fail to recognize the new MTG: Arena union

00:33:25 Double Fine is also unionzing

00:35:35 New Xbox...

Niki, Lotus, and John embark on a "no bummers" episode of the show, complete with discussions about the new Star Fox game, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's endless charm, and Mina the Hollower's long-awaited release date.

00:00:00 Intro & John's parking lot predicament

00:12:15 Star Fox 64 Remake

00:17:15 Mina the Hollower gets a release date at long last

00:19:16 Copilot removed from Xbox plans (please go to nogamesforgenocide.com to learn about the ongoing boycott of Microsoft and Xbox products)

00:23:53 LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight looks great

00:28:27 More "...

NOTE: This bonus episode contains discussions of medical trauma, sexual assault, addiction, child abuse, mass shootings, and generally some sad stories about real life emergencies. It’s hard to avoid those topics when discussing this television show, so if you need to duck out and catch the next regular bonus, we totally get it.

Additional note! This is a bonus episode of the show from 2025--we're freeing it from the confines of the bonus feed to prepare you for The Pittcast Season 2, which will be available for the public and not just in the bonus feed.

...

Niki, Lotus, and John celebrate 100 episodes and discuss GameStop's potential purchase of eBay, usTwo's CEO saying some wild stuff into a microphone, the final death of Paste Games, and more!

00:00:00 Intros & At Least It's Friday

00:06:05 GameStop could be prepping for an eBay takeover

00:13:50 Saudi Arabia is divesting from some entertainment properties

00:20:36 Atari acquires emulation studio Implicit Conversions

00:24:39 MTG: Arena devs unionize

00:28:48 usTwo CEO speaks way too candidly about labor relations within company

00:39:45 GreedFall dev Spiders being liquidated; mismanagement alleged

00:44:22 GameMaker integrates with Claude...

Lotus & John discuss the lawsuit against Mr. Beast, Xbox Game Pass carving out Call of Duty, Playdate's interesting AI policy, and much more!

VGBees is 100% listener-supported. Join The Hive for bonus content, exclusive Discord access, and input on future content. https://vgbees.com/join

00:00:00 Intro

00:05:46 Mr. Beast sued by former employee

00:13:11 Ludum Dare to "end" in 2028

00:18:10 Playdate to block generative AI asset games; allow generative AI coded games

00:26:55 BAFTA Game Awards pulls trailer of "triggering" game

00:35:48 Sanrio & Toei both form game subsidiaries

00:39:39 Xbox...

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Hi there! Lotus is still in space teaching the aliens about baseball (they like it!), while Niki and John are earthbound to discuss the week's biggest stories in games, including:

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This week, Lotus repaired the toilets aboard the Artemis II on its way safely (!!!!) back to Earth. Niki and John were grounded, however, and came together to discuss the biggest games news of the week. Here's the run of show:

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With Niki on board the Artemis II to fix their Outlook situation, Lotus and John tackle the news and games of the week, including:

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This week, Lotus, Niki, and John contemplate Nintendo's strange (but maybe deliberate) choice to launch Animal Crossing's Switch 2 edition, Pokemon Pokopia, and Tomodachi Life in one tidy two month stretch. Also:

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This week, the crew gets completely redrawn on the fly by Nvidia's new AI-powered technology that everyone besides Digital Foundry seems to hate! How do they look? So lifelike, I bet. While getting yassified (and polluting water sources near data centers!), John, Niki, and Lotus discuss:

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This week, Niki, Lotus, and John played some great games and took a full week off from games news because there just wasn't anything to talk about! What's that? [holds earpiece] I'm being told there was a lot of news this week. Okay. Well. Here's what they talked about, I guess!

This week, Niki, Lotus, and John reconvene to rejoice over what seems like a masterpiece in the Pokémon oeuvre. But first, lots of big news, including:

On this week's show, the crew deals with several major post-scripts from last week's jam-packed news discussion block. Fortunately, Lotus, Niki, and John are joined by certified GOAT Michael Higham to unpack it all.

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This week's show was packed to the gills with discussion-worthy topics and that was before Phil Spencer announced his retirement, Sarah Bond resigned, and Asha Sharma ascended the Xbox throne. From there, Lotus, Niki, and John discussed:

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Folks, this week was VERY jam-packed with discussion-worthy games news and that was BEFORE we even welcomed Game Informer's Charles Harte to the show. Together, Lotus, Niki, John, and Charles discussed:

Sony's State of Play was very busy, as well, including:

This week, the whole gang is back together to discuss the biggest games news of the week, which sometimes wasn't about games at all! Including:

Plus, there was a Nintendo Partner Direct:

With Lotus on the International Space Station this week, John and Niki wasted no time discussing these completely relevant topics:

Okay but they did get down to the most important games news of the week, including:

This week, Niki, John, and Lotus confront the biggest gaming stories of the week, including:

We played:

Also, we answer yo

This week, Lotus, Niki, and John set out to dissect the price sensitivity opus laid out by Peak's devs in an interview with Stephen Totilo. Is eight bucks really five bucks? This and much more, including:

We played:

Also, your burning HIVE QUESTIONS are answered from our lovely

This week, Lotus, Niki, and John are back and ready to tackle the first fresh news of 2026, including:

We played:

Also, your burning HIVE QUESTIONS are answered straight from our lovely Discord.

This week, John, Niki, and Lotus stare down the barrel of a very slow gaming news week, so they tackle some additional stuff, too, including:

We played:

We also answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS straight...

Note: a better quality audio upload will be available in a couple days.

Hello! Another year has flown by and Niki, Lotus, and John are here to talk about their favorite games and gaming-adjacent things from 2025! Included in the GOTY chat:

Also, the news of the week!

We answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our...

This week, Niki treats John and Lotus to the first ever VGBees Podcast Edition of Scam Text Theatre! After this momentous occasion, the crew turns its sights to the biggest news of the week, including:

Editor's note: this week's episode failed to upload individual stems of each recording, which means this final product is a bit rougher than usual. This is John and Streamyard's fault. Jordan did a great job with it.

This week, Niki, Lotus, and John are all here to discuss the Biggest Night in Gaming™ aka The Game Awards. Included in the overall discussion:

This week, John and Lotus celebrate the return of Niki to the show by immediately yelling at them for saying no one knows who Ron Gilbert is. Also!

This week, Lotus and John dissect the biggest news stories of the week, including:

Here's what we played this week:

Finally, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week, Lotus and John are feeling particularly thankful for the handful of absolutely bananas stories that dropped in their laps! Including:

Also, Lotus and John played/watched/listened to:

We, of course, answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS...

This week, Lotus and John tackle an absolute boatload of games news and notes, including:

This week, Niki returns after a taxing move to talking to Lotus and John about a game they played called Life's Eternal Puzzle. Not out on any consoles I can find but still interesting!

Also!

From the VGBees Bonus Feed -- join The Hive today to get bonus episodes like this all year.

John gave himself such a strange and wonderful birthday gift this year by asking Joe from the Joe Is Hungry YouTube channel for ninety minutes of his time. Joe, kindly, obliged. And this is the result. If you've never watched Joe Is Hungry, it is a fast food review channel with a growing and vocal fandom. You'll understand. Interview includes:

This week, Niki has been taken by the Swamp Monster so Lotus and John are fending for themselves. Lucky for you, they love to yap! Included in the gab sesh:

On this week's episode, Niki, Lotus, and John discuss Microsoft's extremely weird week/month/year/decade. Including:

PLUS:

We also answer your BURNING HIVE QUESTIONS...

Hi folks! This week, Niki fills out an application for an apartment, John gets something wrong (again), and Lotus explores Steam Next Fest! Included in their discussion:

Also, we answer your burning HIVE QUESTIONS from our lovely Discord.

This week marks the beginning of the Lotus era at The VGBees Podcast. She joins John and Niki as the third permanent cohost of the show and immediately brings insight to the program like...what if Nintendo likes making money?

But also!